Message in a Bottle
by Dragonmorph
Summary: Ramirez and Allen had been friends for years. It was that simple decision that changed their lives when Allen enlists in the army and Ramirez receives a letter that led him to the Army Rangers in Modern Warfare 2.


**This short-story is inspired by ****The Notebook and Dear John. ****I was encouraged to read them so I did and loved them! I swore, I got emotion—nevermind that. Well, I also got pulled into another fanbase for RamirezxAllen if you're into slash. I turned into an Allen fangirl.**

**If you want another idea for a slash fanfic, try RamirezxFoley! XD I randomly thought that. Please don't hurt me o.o**

**Enjoy!**

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Message in a Bottle

It was 2:00pm in the afternoon when James Ramirez restlessly laid on his bed. He tossed and turned and worriedly glanced up at the clock that ticked ever so slowly. His eyes refused to even dare stare at the dreaded calendar resting on his bedside where it marked tomorrow as a day for sorrow. He dared not to talk or even think any further.

"James, I'm sorry…" Joseph Allen cried out through the cracks in the hinges.

Ramirez only grumbled a response and shifted his lying position, turning his back towards his friend. He vividly remembered when Joseph stumbled upon his doorway with bloodshot eyes and cuts opening on his bare arms.

"_James, h-help!" Joseph called out with a cry after his body landed on the concrete. _

_Ramirez heard a loud thump and rushed to the door to find a wounded man, no his friend, helplessly lying on the doorstep. "Jo!" He managed to exclaim in fear. "Don't worry, I got you."_

_Even with Joseph's 17-year-old body, Ramirez tried his best to carry his friend up the stairs. The crimson stain soaked through his clothes, but he didn't care. He simply didn't care. The only thing he did care was his heart racing with death itself. He had to stop often to pull the limp body further up his back before ascending upwards once more. He reached the top and opened the door to his room before gently tossing Jo on his bed and sprinted to a phone, dialing 911. The ambulance came just in time._

"_Will he be okay?" Ramirez demanded._

_The doctor held his clipboard and analyzed the nurse tending to the young man. He turned his head and nodded softly. "He'll live."_

"_Thank God!" He sighed in relief, and flinched when a hand lightly touched his shoulder. He whirled around and looked at the nurse signaling him to a room. He lets out a "thank you" and rushed to the room to await his brother._

"_H-hi James," Joseph said weakly. He tried to move, but the pain in his spine caused him to groan uncomfortably._

"_Jo! I was so worried, I-I thought I lost you…" Ramirez cried, running forth and kneeling by the bed stand. "Why happened?"_

"_My dad got really pissed at me." Joseph's eyes seemed to fill with tears and guilt. "He kicked me out of the house."_

_Ramirez growled under his breath," How could he?" Analyzing the scars, his anger within deepened._

_Joseph sighed," It's my fault. I told him that I would—never mind. It's complicated."_

"_Tell me later then, Jo." said Ramirez with a weak smile._

"Later came….," Ramirez muttered irritably. "I-I can't believe he's leaving me. I'll miss him, and he's serving his country like a proud American, but still. Maybe I'm just overreacting and sealed my ears to his explanation." He sighed deeply, and landed on the bed once more when he was half-way up. The door knocked weakly. _He's giving up, maybe I should go answer. _He thought.

"James?"

"Hey, Jo."

"Look, I'm sorry for scaring you like that. It's just—"

"You want to be a good man that helps his own country. I understand, but you should've told me when you decided to enlist." Ramirez interrupted in a calm tone.

Joseph silently nodded behind the door," It was since I heard about the tragedy… you know, the U.S. Marines?"

"Yeah. That was when we were early-aged teens."

"You used to ramble on and on about how it's a suicide mission and not worth it since we're _killers_."

Ramirez flinched at the last word, "That was long ago. I eased my so-called 'hate' for military."

There was silence for a minute before Allen spoke up again.

"I'll miss you, bro."

Ramirez wiped the tears forming in his eyes, "Me too. Me too."

"Promise to call, write, etc.?"

"You only listed two things, Joseph." Ramirez chuckled lightly.

"Yeah, yeah. Just keep me in your thoughts when you go to college and graduate from high school."

"Darn right I will. Why couldn't I?"

"Just checking." Joseph had to hold in a smirk. "Now open the door will you? Or is it to hold back that incoming fist to my face?"

"Whatever. I'm not going to hurt you no matter what." The response came in a mixture of laughs and words. Ramirez remained to his word and opened the door. Seeing the young Joseph Allen before the new one in the future, he took picture to keep in his thoughts and immediately ran to hug Allen. "Farewell."

"I'm not leaving yet." Joseph yelped confused.

"Shut up, you know what I meant."

Joseph shrugged, and returned the hug, feeling his own eyes water from the thought of separation.

…

The light peered through the windows of apartment, and it woke the young 23-year old man with a grunt. From his bed, he got out, took a shower, shaved then got dressed for another long day. His mind felt tight when he walked out into the sun and noticed the wind brushing up against his skin. He took the usual walk to the mail and noticed an envelope different from the bills. With a shrug, he held the pile of mail tucked into in arm and headed back to his room.

Ramirez rubbed the burnt areas of the envelope so perfectly folded and made with the strongest paper to prevent any damage to sink through. _The maker made it so well. _He remarked. His fingers lightly poked the edges before descending towards the opening, and slowly ripped it before stopping. The envelope to him is like a bottle preventing a way to open it and it floated; buoyancy in the atmosphere rather than the water. To him: a message in a bottle came to him from a lost soul.

He continued to rip it when he realized he stared for minutes at the half-wrecked paper that begged to reveal a card with an image of his favorite animal: a bear, no two bears sitting together like friends. Ramirez gulped as his hand lifted the cover and eyed the familiar handwriting. It was then he began to read:

_Dear Jimmy,_

_I told a fellow soldier that escorted the Rangers via helicopter to mail you this letter. He is trustworthy in my eyes so I knew he would send you this message. As an Army Ranger or any kind of soldier serving his/her country, there will be consequences that affect everyone that are unfortunate. The danger was thrilling, but the training hurts like hell. It's a miracle I even survived it so this long. If you're confused by the message, continue to read further._

_You'll probably want to ask why I didn't call and instead, sent you a letter. You'll wonder and know why I wrote in past tense. I wrote this early in training to say this: If you receive this letter, I'm likely KIA or in non-knowledgeable soldier terms, "killed in action." I'm sorry to let our friendship break due to my death and it pained me since I left on the bus after our last brotherly hug. Everything I see, does, sense, it reminded me of you. I never had anyone as amazing as you._

_Many apologies,_

"_Jo" Allen._

Ramirez felt tears stream down his cheeks as he studied every word filled with his friend's heart and blood that once pulsed through his arm to even write such a thing. Maybe his Captain made him write it as a suggestion to let his family know.

He pounded his fists on the table, ready to burst into a rage of both fury and tears. The thought of his best friend frightened him to the bone and he couldn't understand the entire thing when his mind fogged up from his blinded anger.

_Why Joseph? Why him so soon? _Another thought answered it for him: Joseph sent him a letter about a man by the name of General Sheperd who picked_ him _to join the elite force called the Task Force 141. Ramirez bristled with suspicion, but he seemed nice in the end. It was the last paragraph that made him let out his anger.

_The General also picked me for a dangerous undercover mission. I'm not allowed to say what, but if you ever decide to listen in about the news… Well, I'll let you hear it yourself. _

He listened to the news and heard about Russia demanding war against America. In fact, it could be part of what his friend tried to prevent and failed. He allowed the steam to escape his system and sat down, emotionless as a statue.

Ramirez glanced at the cellphone resting on the table next to him. His brows narrowed in thought before he lifted his arm and picked up the phone. He decided once more then snorted, dialing a phone number he found after he pulled out a yellow book underneath the couch.

_Come on…_

"Hello?"

"Hey. This is James Ramirez." He shifted his body to the side, filling his thoughts with confidence. "I'd like to enlist in the U.S. Army."

"Why so?" The woman answered back.

"It's for my friend. I'm going to finish what he didn't. For him."

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"When it hurts to look back and your scared to look ahead you can look beside you and your best friend will be there."


End file.
